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Friday, April 27, 2018

2018 FANTASY BASEBALL WRAPUP: THURSDAY

Ozzie Albies: 2/5 with his 8th HR while hitting .288. I am running out of glowing words here for Albies. What I mentioned earlier on Twitter is that most in the fantasy baseball industry anticipated around 15 home runs here and now we may see 35. Since Ronald Acuna got all of the hype, Albies was a draft pick that ended up in the teens in terms of round. As a result, there is not a single better value play among hitters or pitchers for 2018 so far and second is not even close.Ronald Acuna: 3/4 with his first HR while hitting .444. Like I am watching Mike Trout debut all over again. Acuna will be a first round pick next season. Take it to the bank.

Joey Votto: 1/4 with his third HR while hitting .256. Third home run this week for Votto who is raging hot and making any early concerns about him completely moot.

Sean Newcomb: 6 IP 5 H 4 ER 3 BB 7 K with an ERA of 4.23. Watching Newcomb pitch is like watching a young Trevor Bauer. So much potential but so much wildness.Starling Marte: 1/3 with his 8th SB while hitting. 281. All seems well here statistically as Marte comes off his 2017 steroid suspension. You wonder why Dee Gordon and Marte as far as being guys build on speed needed to take the juice given that added bulk would likely slow them down a bit but at least any perceived gamble on Marte in drafts last spring seem like much adieu about nothing.Ivan Nova: 8 IP 6 H 0 ER 0 BB 5 K with an ERA of 3.32. I said earlier in the year when Nova got hit hard that his low WHIP was an indication he was actually pitching well. It is a reminder to always focus on WHIP more than ERA due to the lesser amount of luck involved.

Michael Fulmer: 6 IP 4 H 0 ER 1 BB 9 K with an ERA of 2.76. I don't have confidence in Fulmer long-term given his elbow scares and mediocre K/9 in the AL (this outing notwithstanding) and so if you are an owner of his, entertain offers.

Eduardo Escobar: 1/4 with his third HR while hitting .303. Escobar has shown that he can quiet 10/10 or 15/15 value and he is likely sitting there on your waiver wire given the Target Field discrimination regarding almost all Minny hitters. Take a look.Gary Sanchez: 1/4 with his sixth HR while hitting .202. Sanchez seems to be a Justin Upton clone in terms of extended hot and cold streaks but he is really heating up right now.Fernando Rodney: third blown save in a row with 2 ER without getting an out with a 6.75. We have given Rodney his last closing rites too many times to count but with a 2.10 WHIP as well, this really feels like it could be it. Run and pick up Addison Reed.

David Peralta: 2/3 with his 3rd HR while hitting .317. Do yourself a favor and check out what a solid OF 3/4 Peralta has been the last few seasons. He won't light the world on fire in any category but Peralta can fill in very effectively in a pinch.

Matt Koch: 6 IP 6 H 2 ER 2 BB 4 K with an ERA of 1.93. Don't even think about it. This is a guy who had a 8.40 ERA in 45 Triple-A innings a year ago and whose K/9 rates are a joke.Noah Syndergaard: 7.1 IP 6 H 1 ER 0 BB 7 K with an ERA of 2.86. This is why you should try not to have a wins category in your fantasy baseball league. So much random luck involved.C.J. Cron: 1/5 with his sixth HR while hitting .264. Tough to say where this will go since Cron has never been allowed to play a full season in MLB (your fault Mike Scoscia) but at the very least Cron is already working nicely as your UTIL or CI bat.Wilson Ramos: 2/4 with his 2nd HR while hitting .262. Ramos always tends to get better as the season goes along and he should be started everywhere now that he has pulled out from his early slump. The fantasy baseball community never shows any patience for Ramos but this peanut stand has always seen the value here as the very rare catcher who puts up numbers with no one paying attention.

Adam Jones: 3/5 with his 4th HR while hitting .267. Haven't heard much from Jones since his red-hot first 10 days of the 2018 season but he will always be there for you in a "break glass in emergency" deal.

Chris Archer: 5.1 IP 11 H 4 ER 1 BB 7 K with an ERA of 6.61. We are now into the second month of the season which means the numbers are more stable by the day in terms of reflecting true ability for the given campaign and for Archer, this is about as bad a story as one can get for a pitcher. I still think the guy is not healthy but I also admit I have made way too many excuses for the guy in being seduced by all the strikeouts in the past. You almost can't even start Archer now and that makes him one of the bigger busts so far this season given his SP 2 price tag.

Dylan Bundy: 7 ER in 4.2 IP with an ERA of 2.97. The WHIP is already up to 1.29 and I will bet the farm Bundy finishes with an ERA over 4.00. Sell right now. James Paxton: 6 IP 5 H 2 ER 3 BB 10 K with an ERA of 5.12. Once again Paxton showing ace ability but there has been massive inconsistency this season as the AL version of Robbie Ray.

Kyle Schwarber: 1/4 with his 7th HR while hitting .286. Average is slowly leaking which is a concern since power is never in question.

Kyle Hendricks: 7 IP 4 H 0 ER 0 BB 5 K with an ERA of 3.10. After an injury-marred 2017, Hendricks' price dropped to where it should have been in the first place in 2017 off his fluky good 2016 campaign. The strikeouts won't ever wow you but Hendricks has proven himself to be a top SP 3. J.D. Martinez: 2/4 with his 5th HR while hitting .306. Martinez has been as advertised so nothing to add here which is what you want from your top picks. Justin Smoak: 2/4 with his third HR while hitting .241. Smoak has gotten unlucky with the batted ball so there is hope for an average turnaround but through the first month he has looked more like the underachiever he always was prevous to 2017. Yoan Moncada: 3/5 with his sixth HR while hitting .264. It it happening people. Moncada is turning into a star right before out eyes.

Matt Davidson: 2/3 with 2 home runs (7 for season) while hitting .225. Home runs were flying out everywhere in K.C. last night and Davidson got into the fun with two. The average is in the gutter like I said it would and honestly you really should have little need to bother with that considering how many home runs are on the wire. Jorge Soler: 2/3 with his 2nd HR while hitting .279. Soler is doing pretty well right now and is worth an add in deeper leagues as a bench guy considering he is still young and retains potential.